Heating a greenhouse - Yes or No?

[veggiechicken]

Lots of questions on the Vine about heating a greenhouse - so here's a Poll to gauge how many of us do, or don't and how we do it if we do.

[Martin H]

I don't heat mine. But I do have an old electric fan heater that I plug in if it looks like being sub-zero in there all day. This year it got its first (and probably only) outing at the beginning of this month.

[Guest]

I think people need to understand/ acknowledge how their gh behaves over the course of the year. I have 2 but they act very differently. A lean to that has a lower temp but for a longer period and a begger if I don't vent enough. A freestanding that gets very hot and needs shading but for a shorter duration in the year. I remember going in someone elses lean too gh and I don't remember the direction it faced but it was so hot but the wall acted as a heat store and they were able to grow a fair amount over winter in there.

So there is my ramblings

[Bren In Pots]

I don't heat mine, only thing in it now is lettuce anything else will be staying indoors until the weather warms up.

[chris_m]

I don't heat mine either - yet, anyway. The previous owners obviously did because there was an old 750w oil-filled heater in there and a power feed from the workshop via an old central heating thermostat. I have tested it and it does seem to work OK.

Last year (my first real year here) I didn't really use the GH for much more than a "glass shed", although I did finish off some seedlings in it before planting out and I did plant some lettuce in there in the Autumn.

Having now evicted most of the stuff that was in there in the absence of a better place to put it, I do intend to use the GH as one this year (for tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines and melons, along with, possibly some sweetcorn and runner beans) but I won't be putting stuff in until after any heat might be needed.

I do have a little 45w heater in the cold frame, which is doing a nice job with the first of my seedlings this year - not enough to need to put 'em in the GH though.

[veggiechicken]

Amazing!! 9 votes and we all agree.

Keep on voting please!

[jackarmy]

I dont but have pondered it . I do the back and forth thing untill i can leave them up there with some fleece, i love that time of year .

Just noticed the lowest in my gh last night was 8.8 , if id known that was going to be the case id have left my early toms up there last night .

[bikermike]

No heating here...

I have wrapped a few things in Bubblewrap this year (it didn't work), but I do use it. So I've managed to vote twice (sorry) 1 for unheated and 1 for bubblewrap - unheated

[veggiechicken]

You're excused, Mike - it's a multichoice poll
...........and we all still agree.

[AmateurOne]

Unheated however electric fan heater on thermostat for when temperature drops like recent weeks

[Scarlet]

Unheated for me too - I grow mainly tomatoes and chillies in mine with a couple of cucumbers and a cape gooseberry.
I bring all my tender seedlings in overnight (toms, chillies, peppers, cues, courgettes) until the temperatures remain consistently above 10 during the night.
All the hardier seedlings -Brassica, lettuce, chard etc stay in GH.

[Greenleaves]

Another for unheated, I don't see the benefits of doing so, my brassicas don't need heat to germinate or over winter. When I sow the more tender varieties, it's usually warmer.

[Dead Dogs]

I have voted both don’t heat and electric.
The allotment gh only has solar heating and the gh at home has some heating from the two LED floodlights and heated propagators. Not technically heating, but there is some heat coming off of them.

In a previous home, in the cold windy far north of Scotland, I used an Inkbird ITC-308 to control a fan heater inside a blow-away inside the gh. Only way I could get a start on the toms.

When I find the box the Inkbird is in I intend to use it here.

[seasprout]

Other.

I create a small tent area with extra thick fleece only if I have tenders needing protection when the temp drops, but due to cost, I mostly don’t heat.

[Dead Dogs]

Unheated however electric fan heater on thermostat for when temperature drops like recent weeks

Unheated, but using an electric fan heater??

Surly that is heating, even if it is only part time.